The invention relates to a portable housing, constructed for accommodating an audio or light mixer, the housing having an accommodating frame for the mixer with a bottom, a front wall, a rear wall, two sidewalls and an upper side.
For large public functions or events, mixers are frequently operated in a 19-inch rack, which can no longer be transported by one person. Such racks are equipped with rollers and, frequently with carrying handles. Nevertheless, the racks can only be transported by two persons and then only over short distances.
Furthermore, suitcases and/or bags, in which a mixer can be transported and/or stored are already known. However, before a public function or event, the mixer must be taken out of the housing or bag and set up on a table or another suitable device.
Such portable audio or light mixers are frequently transported in a hectic atmosphere at the event and, are then removed from thee housing. After the event, such mixers must be taken down once again and packed once more. The conventional housing protects the mixer during transport against impacts, dirt and other external effects and serves to keep the mixer protected and free from dust.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved portable housing for a mixer that facilitates the setting up and taking down of the mixer at the site of any public function or event.
This objective is accomplished with a portable housing, constructed to accommodate an audio or light mixer, the housing having an accommodating frame for the mixer with a bottom, a front wall, a rear wall, two sidewalls and an upper side, the housing being constructed so that the mixer, while being operated, remains connected with the accommodating frame.
An advantage is that the mixer remains at least partially protected against impacts, dirt and other effects from the outside, especially in the hectic atmosphere, which is frequently encountered at a public function or event.
According to a particularly preferred aspect of the invention, the accommodating frame furthermore defines a slide-in opening for accommodating an audio or light effect device. Such effect devices (effect processors), usually with a 19-inch dimension, are frequently operated with a mixer. Known sound effect types are, for instance reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, auto-pan, tap-delay, etc. The effect equipment in a slide-inch space below the mixer is also fastened to accommodating frame so that, when the mixer and the effect device are held in the 19-inch dimension, a transportable mini-rack is defined by the accommodating frame.
Preferably, one or more connecting openings are further provided in the housing, especially in the accommodating frame, to connect the mixer and optionally, the effect device.
Preferably, the accommodating frame further comprises an operating opening for the mixer, for permitting the mixer to be operated and removed from the accommodating frame.
In a particularly preferable embodiment, a hinge mechanism for the mixer is disposed at the accommodating frame and permits the mixer to swivel out of the accommodating frame. Under certain circumstances, by swiveling of the mixer, the connection to electrical leads is facilitated even further. The mixer can also be brought into an inclined position in which it can be operated conveniently by the user.
In addition to the operating and connecting opening, further functional openings or functional areas can be provided, such as an operating area, over which at least some of the functions of the mixer can be controlled through the wall of the housing. For example, pushbutton switches or lifting switches can be operated from the outside through a transparent sheet. A further functional opening could be defined by a ventilation opening for the mixer, so that a fan can aspirate surrounding air for cooling purposes or eject heat to the surroundings. The fan opening for the incoming air could also be equipped with a dust filter, which is accommodated in the wall of the housing. Finally, a functional field, transparent to infrared, may be provided, which permits an infrared interface, disposed in the mixer, to be operated while the mixer is left in the housing.
In a further advantageous development, the operating and connecting openings can be closed off particularly by doors. It is recommended that all operating and connecting doors be closed for transporting or storing the mixer, in order to protect the mixer against dust or damage. Even during the operation, operating and connecting openings, which are not required, can be covered completely or partly.
In a further advantageous development, the covering devices comprise at least one of a covering door, a rear door and a front door. The doors are firmly connected over a hinge with the accommodating frame of the housing. In a preferred embodiment, the doors can be affixed in one piece with the accommodating frame, the hinge being formed by a flexible region of the material of the accommodating frame. Alternatively, a hinge with mutually rotatable mechanical components is formed, in which the covering door, rear door and front door can be constructed from different materials.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the housing is formed with an accommodating frame of a rigid or stiff material, such as wood or plastic. At the same time, the mixer is taken up completely in this accommodating frame such that the mix er protrudes only insignificantly, if at all, from the accommodating frame. In the case of a rigid or stiff configuration of the accommodating frame, the mixer is protected safely against damage during transport or storage and, also while being operated.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing or the accommodating frame are formed at least partly from a flexible textile or textile-like material. In this configuration, the housing can be constructed more easily and possibly more inexpensively. At the same time, the cooling problems can be solved more simply or do not play a role at all. Nevertheless, in order to be able to transport and handle the mixer well and, at the same time, to reduce the risk of damage, the housing may be provided with reinforcing elements and with flexible or shock-absorbing protectors. The reinforcing elements may be constructed, for example, in the form of panels from plastic or wood and preferably from plywood. Such reinforcing elements reinforce the housing without increasing the manufacturing costs or the weight of the housing as a whole significantly.
In a preferred embodiment, the reinforcing elements are enclosed and preferably sewn in between two layers of the textile or textile like material. In this embodiment, the reinforcing elements are not visible either from the outside or from the inside. Corners and edges of the reinforcing elements are covered by the textile or textile-like material.
In order to more reliably fix the mixer in the accommodating frame of the housing, fastening rails, to which the mixer can be fixed with detachable fastening means, are provided preferably on the inside at the narrow sides of the housing. The fastening rails are advisably adapted to a panel-shaped reinforcing element, each enclosed at the sidewalls, the panel-shaped reinforcing element extending essentially over the whole of the cross section. The permanent connection, such as the bolting of the mixer and housing is advisable, for stabilizing the whole of the arrangement of housing and mixer, while the mixer being operated remains in the housing. When the present invention relates to a housing adapted to an audio or light mixer, it is understood that space for accommodating an effect device can always be provided, for example, at the front side.
In a further preferred embodiment, the covering door, preferably the rear door, and the front door can be swiveled about an axis, which extends essentially orthogonally to the side wall of the housing. Preferably, the covering door is swiveled, towards the rear and, can function as a cover for the connecting cable.
In a different, alternative embodiment, preferably in the form of a rigid or stiff accommodating frame, the covering devices can be designed so that they may be detached from the accommodating frame of the housing, such that, at the site of the public function or event, the mixer can remain in the housing while it is being set up and connected and only the covering devices are removed for starting up the mixer.